Baseline Groundwater Monitoring in the Transboundary Liard Basin for Source Water Protection

利亚德盆地是加拿大第二大非常规油气藏。它位于不列颠哥伦比亚省、育空地区和西北地区的边界内。非常规石油和天然气开发需要水力压裂，通常称为“压裂”。自20世纪50年代以来，该地区一直支持常规石油和天然气生产。然而，最近定向钻井和“水力压裂法”的改进导致了非常规石油和天然气行业的增长。这些活动引起了公众对石油和天然气生产对环境，特别是当地淡水供应的影响的担忧。北方社区依靠地表水或浅层地下水作为主要水源。虽然浅水可能看起来很干净，但它很容易被污染。因此，有必要寻找替代淡水来源，特别是来自未受污染的深层基岩。然而，目前尚不清楚更深的基岩是否也面临石油和天然气生产的风险。如果这些基岩层被天然气、盐、金属或与石油和天然气钻探活动有关的有机污染物污染，它们将不会成为未来可靠的清洁水源。事实上，这些更深的基岩层可能会成为污染物到达浅水供应的路径，从而加剧了问题。这项研究将制定一项利用地质学、地球物理学、地球化学、地下水流和水质测量相结合的地下水监测计划。它将建立一个监测威尔斯井网络，由西北地区政府管理，以支持Acho Dene Koe第一民族和Liard堡哈姆雷特的居民。这些监测威尔斯和地下水系统知识将用于评估石油和天然气开发的影响，并帮助了解淡水地下水资源的供水可靠性。拟议的工作是朝着保护北方水资源迈出的重要一步，同时确保加拿大石油和天然气部门的负责任发展。

The Liard Basin is the second largest reservoir for unconventional oil and gas in Canada. It is situated within the boundaries of British Columbia, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Unconventional oil and gas development requires hydraulic fracturing, commonly termed 'fracking'. This region has supported conventional oil and gas production since the 1950's. However, recent improvements in directional drilling and 'fracking' have led to growth in the unconventional oil and gas sector. These activities have given rise to public worries about the impacts of oil and natural gas production on the environment, especially local freshwater supplies. Northern communities rely on surface water or shallow groundwater as their primary source of water. Although shallow water may appear clean, it can be easily contaminated. Therefore, there is a need to find alternative sources of freshwater, specifically from deep unpolluted bedrock. However, it is not clear if deeper bedrock is also at risk from oil and gas production. If these bedrock layers become contaminated by natural gas, salts, metals, or organic pollution related to oil and gas drilling activities, they will not be a reliable source of clean water in the future. In fact, these deeper bedrock layers may act as a path for contaminants to reach shallow water supplies, adding to the problem. This research will develop a plan for monitoring groundwater using a combination of geology, geophysics, geochemistry, groundwater flow and quality measurements. It will create a network of monitoring wells that can be operated by the Government of the Northwest Territories in support of the Acho Dene Koe First Nation and residents of the Hamlet of Fort Liard. These monitoring wells and groundwater system knowledge will be used to assess impacts from oil and gas development and help understand the reliability of fresh groundwater resources for water supply. The proposed work represents an important step toward safeguarding northern water resources, while ensuring responsible development of Canada's oil and gas sector.